cynthiawilson62

When the church ceases arguing and complaining, agape love is at work in us. The love of God will shine through us in the midst of a dark world. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35, ​also, I John 3:14 says, " We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers." Shining as stars will signify that we have really come to a place of walking in genuine love. We no longer say things just because we think we have a right, but we speak and act in ways that is truly reflects our true image, which is of God in Christ Jesus. I would say that complaining and arguing, behind the scene backbiting and the unspoken religious spirit at work has definitely had a negative effect on our church. What I can do about it, is to not allow that kind of spirit affect my heart and pursue love above all.

The Word of God tells us in I Peter 5:6-8, that we are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt us at the proper time. God is perfect in all He does and He knows our hearts, whether we are truly humble or still has some learning that needs to take place. His timing of exalting His people is always at the right time. He sees the bigger picture of our lives, whereas, we think now is the time to be exalted! We need to confidently trust God that He has our best interest at heart and He will certainly exalt us at the right time. We often get impatient because we think time is passing us by and we're not getting any younger. Also, we compare ourselves to others that are already exalted and begin to wonder if your time will ever come. The scripture says, it is not wise to compare yourself to others. Our impatience often leads to doing things out of the flesh, moving ahead of God. Which often leads to failure and frustration.

This is such a welcome question, because I had two older people asking about how they will rise again if they are not baptized in the Holy Spirit. The Word of God lets us know in so many places of scripture that we, who are born again will be in the presence of the Lord at our death. Unfortunately, I am finding that many people are so unsure about their salvation due to erroneous teaching. I find great comfort and reassurance in the Word of God that we will definitely be with him. Of course, that does not mean we neglect truly living for Him, dedicated and committed to Him in every way, because we want to hear Him say, well done, thy good and faithful servant, enter in. However, Jesus has paid the price with His blood! And it is by His grace and love that has given us this wonderful unending relationship with Him.

Fear is debilitating, tormenting and literally dominates when allowed. It can not only prevent you from being a strong witness for Christ, but literally cause one to be spiritually dwarfed in their growth in the Lord. I know because the Lord delivered me from the stronghold of fear, and once it is dealt with by the power of Christ your spiritual eyes are opened to just how much you were bound by fear. When we allow the fear of people to rule, it takes away our identity in Christ. Our tongues become bound because we are afraid of the people's opinion of us; however, when we believe that God is with us we can do all things through Christ. Entrusting our lives fully to our Lord and Savior releases God's blessings and abundance in our life.

As we grow and mature in our love walk, wise discernment should increase in our relationship with others. God desires that we abound in love, so we can choose what is of excellence in relationships and excellence in whatever the situation may be. Our love relationship first begins with God, receiving His love so we can abound in that love toward others. That comes from developing and cultivating a close and intimate relationship with the Lord and knowing that our identity is secure in the Lord Jesus. Once we are grounded in the Lord's love we can walk in wise discernment and approve those things of excellency. If we are self centered, it demonstrates that our love walk is not mature in God, therefore, hypocrisy, a impure heart will cloud our discernment. We are instructed to be sincere, without mixture in our heart or offence.

Hello, My name is Cynthia, I enjoy studying the Bible. I've been a Christian for many years, and enjoy and know the importance of knowing God's Word and walking it out daily. I live in the wonderful state of Texas.

In context of this passage I believe a slave is committed to his master; he/she is under ownership of another, in this case, we are under the owenrship of our Lord and Savior and we are to obey Him because we are submitted to Him only. The word "saint" I kind of thought of someone being holy, however, the word "saint" denotes that we are dedicated and consecrated to the Lord; set apart for the Lord to honor, worship, adore and serve Him.